Yes, we know. Officially, âgenetealogyâ is not a word. You wonât find it in any dictionaries. But itâs a handy means to capture the concept of genetic genealogy â the use of DNA testing to peek into your past and learn about your roots.

Genetealogy just became available in a commercial sense in 2000 (before that, you had to be able to charm a team of scientists into studying your family or surname!). Like many technologies, it started slowly and gathered steam. Now â just a few years later â itâs attracting new practioners at an escalating rate. Tens of thousands of people have already been DNA-tested for genealogical reasons, and it wonât be long before weâre tipping over into the hundreds of thousands arena. And thatâs good news for all of us because the more people who are tested, the better the chance each of us has of finding meaningful matches that will reveal something about our family history. Of course, itâs not all about match-making. Some tests are designed to provide insight into your deep ancestry or geographic origins.

How Does It Work?

Simple. Just sign up with one of the testing companies, pay your fee, do a mouth swab, and send your kit back. A few weeks later, youâll get your results and youâre ready to play. Thatâs where this site comes in. As with conventional genealogy, genetealogy is a slippery slope. The more you know, the more you want to know. And this site is intended to be a resource â a single location where you can find links to relevant articles, educational books and videos, upcoming genetealogy-related events (maybe thereâs one in your area in the not-too-distant future), and other assorted resources your fellow DNA-enthusiasts have found to be useful.

Itâs also meant to be interactive. If you take a little time to explore, youâll notice that most of the pages have a feature allowing you to submit material youâd like to see on the site â perhaps a favorite bookmark you find yourself returning to time and again, a great article you just read, or a DNA seminar your society is sponsoring. Youâll also find surveys (and their results). We invite you to participate by making heavy use of these submission features and taking the surveys. Just as with the testing itself, the more people who do this, the greater the benefit to all of us, as this site will grow in content and utility. Any general comments or questions can be directed to me using our Contact form.